A like-for-like 200-amp panel replacement costs $1,800 to $2,800 in New Jersey in 2026. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
A like-for-like 200-amp panel replacement costs $1,800 to $2,800 in New Jersey in 2026. Going from a 100-amp service to 200 amps — new panel, meter socket, mast and service cable — runs $3,500 to $6,600. Rewiring a whole house is a different scale of job: roughly $9,000 to $18,000 for a small 1,200 to 1,500 sq ft house and $15,000 to $30,000 for a typical 2,000 to 2,500 sq ft colonial. Here's what drives each number and which one you actually need.
What does a panel upgrade cost in NJ in 2026?
North Jersey sits at the top of those ranges. Bergen, Hudson and Essex County electricians price above the state average, and older houses cost more because the panel is in a finished basement, the service entrance is buried in siding, or the grounding has to be brought up to current code.
| Job | Typical fixed-price range (NJ, 2026) |
|---|---|
| 200-amp panel replaced, like-for-like (service already 200A) | $1.8K – $2.8K |
| 100-to-200 amp service upgrade: panel, meter socket, mast, SE cable | $3.5K – $6.6K |
| 60-amp fuse box to 200-amp service | add $500 – $1.2K |
| Subpanel for a basement, addition or detached garage | $1.2K – $3K |
| Whole-house surge protector at the panel | $200 – $800 |
| New dedicated circuit (kitchen, laundry, window AC, sump) | $200 – $500 |
| Level 2 EV charger, short run near the panel | $700 – $1.2K |
| Level 2 EV charger, long run or detached garage | $1.2K – $5K |
| Generator transfer switch (portable generator) | $400 – $1.3K |
| Permit fees (town dependent) | $150 – $500 |
| Our minimum visit, covers up to 2 hours | $495 |
What does it cost to rewire a house in NJ?
Rewiring is priced by how hard it is to get wire through the walls, not by the wire. An open, gutted house is cheap to rewire. A finished 1928 colonial with plaster, no attic access over the additions and a full basement ceiling is not.
Most people don't rewire everything. The common New Jersey job is a panel and service upgrade plus the circuits that matter: kitchen, baths, laundry, anything still knob-and-tube, and grounded circuits where the two-prong outlets are.
| House | Typical fixed-price range (NJ, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Small house or cape, 1,200 – 1,500 sq ft | $9K – $18K |
| Typical colonial or split, 2,000 – 2,500 sq ft | $15K – $30K |
| Large house, 3,000+ sq ft | $25K – $45K+ |
| Partial rewire: kitchen, bath and the knob-and-tube circuits | $4K – $12K |
| Add: plaster walls instead of drywall | +15 – 30% |
| Add: patching, skim coat and paint after | priced separately |
Do I actually need a 200-amp service?
A 100-amp service is enough for a small house with gas heat, gas cooking and a modest AC. You need more when you add load, and almost everything people add now is load.
- An EV charger — a Level 2 unit wants a 40 or 50-amp circuit
- A heat pump or central AC, especially replacing oil or baseboard
- An induction range, a hot tub, a pool heater, a workshop
- A finished basement or an addition, with its own lighting, receptacles and heat
- A standby generator with an automatic transfer switch
- A panel with no spaces left, or one full of tandem breakers doubled up
What are the signs of bad wiring?
Burning smell, sparks or a breaker that won't hold is not a planning problem — shut that circuit off and call. The rest of the list is a budget conversation you can have in daylight.
- A fuse box, or a panel labeled Federal Pacific, Stab-Lok or Zinsco
- Two-prong outlets — no ground anywhere in the room
- Cloth-covered wire or ceramic knobs and tubes visible in the basement or attic
- Cable marked AL or ALUMINUM (mostly houses built 1965 to 1973)
- Warm cover plates, buzzing switches, or brown marks around an outlet
- Lights that dim hard when the dryer or the AC kicks on
- Breakers that trip on the same circuit every week
- Extension cords doing permanent work in every room
Knob-and-tube, aluminum wiring and your insurance
Plenty of pre-1950 houses in Montclair, Bloomfield, Ridgewood and Jersey City still have live knob-and-tube in the walls. Many insurance carriers won't write or renew a policy with active knob-and-tube, and some ask for a letter from a licensed electrician saying it has been removed or is no longer energized. Aluminum branch wiring gets similar questions.
If your carrier asks, don't guess. We open the panel, trace what's live, write what we find, and quote the fix — pigtailing aluminum connections at the devices, or replacing the knob-and-tube circuits with new grounded cable. Keep the permit and the final inspection card; that's the paperwork insurers and buyers ask for.
Do I need a permit, and what does PSE&G or JCP&L do?
Yes, you need a permit. Panel, service and rewiring work is electrical work under the New Jersey Uniform Construction Code. Your town's construction office issues the permit and an inspector signs it off, usually with a rough inspection and a final. Fees typically run $150 to $500.
On a service upgrade there's a second party: the utility. PSE&G, JCP&L, Atlantic City Electric or your municipal utility has to cut the power at the drop, then reconnect and re-meter after the town's inspector passes the new work. That scheduling is why a service upgrade takes longer on the calendar than it does on the ladder. We pull the permit, file with the utility, and handle both inspections.
How long will my power be off?
A like-for-like panel swap is a one-day job with the power off four to eight hours. A full service upgrade is one to two days of work, plus waiting on the inspector and the utility reconnect — sometimes same day, sometimes the next morning. We tell you which before we start, and if you've got medical equipment or a home office, say so and we'll plan around it.
A whole-house rewire takes one to three weeks depending on size and access, and we do it in sections so you're never without power to the whole house. Rebates and utility programs exist for some electrification work in New Jersey — New Jersey's Clean Energy Program and utility programs like PSE&G's have run EV-charger and efficiency incentives — and the amounts and rules change, so check what's current before you buy.
Where these numbers come from
2026 published pricing from New Jersey electrical contractors in Bergen, Hudson and Essex counties, national cost guides adjusted for North Jersey labor, and our own 2026 quotes. Ranges are typical fixed prices for a licensed, insured contractor with the permit and inspections included.
Questions people ask next
Can I install an EV charger without upgrading my panel?
Often, yes. If you have a 200-amp service with room in the panel and the charger goes near it, you're looking at $700 to $1,200. A 100-amp service, a full panel, or a run out to a detached garage is what pushes it to $1,200 to $5,000, or into a service upgrade.
Is a Federal Pacific panel worth replacing?
Those panels have a long-documented reputation for breakers that don't trip when they should, and inspectors and insurers flag them. It isn't an emergency tonight, but we'd put it on the list. A like-for-like 200-amp replacement is $1,800 to $2,800.
Do I have to rewire the whole house at once?
No. Most jobs are staged: panel and service first, then the kitchen, baths and any knob-and-tube, then the rest as walls open for other work. Rewiring during a kitchen or bathroom remodel is the cheapest rewiring you'll ever buy, because the walls are already open.
Does a panel upgrade add value to the house?
It doesn't show up like a kitchen does, but a 60-amp fuse box is a red flag on a home inspection and it can hold up a buyer's insurance. A permitted 200-amp service with the final inspection card is one less thing negotiated at closing.
Will you take the old panel and clean up?
Yes. The old panel, cable and packaging leave with us, the site gets swept, and you get photos of the work behind the cover before it goes back on. Labels on every breaker, too — handwritten, accurate, and matched to the rooms.
Need electrical panel upgrades near you?
If you searched “electrical panel upgrades near me” anywhere in New Jersey, that's us. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and sends its own licensed crew to all 21 counties — written price before work starts, no deposit, a real person on the phone 24/7.
Panel full, fuse box, or an EV charger you can't power?
Free in-home consultation and an itemized written price on the spot, permit and inspections included. Our Electrical Panel Upgrades page walks through what a full service upgrade includes.
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099